And now, back to the main event . . .

So, where were we?

To make a long story short: Way back in what seems like prehistoric times, Grafton County Superior Court held a hearing on the various appeals of the Zoning Board decision to grant a special exception to Christ Redeemer Church. That ZBA decision reversed their original denial, and instead granted permission with some toothless conditions. If you want a refresher, you can read my original post here: Update on Zoning Appeals

After that hearing, and a bunch of legal maneuvering by the Church’s hired mouthpiece Michael Tierney, the Grafton County Court essentially ruled in favor of the town. The Court rejected the neighborhood argument that the conditions imposed by the ZBA don’t adequately protect the character of our neighborhood. And, the Court rejected the Church’s argument that they should be allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want. The Court also rejected our appeal that the ZBA wetlands approval is illegal and violates both the spirit and the actual language of the wetlands section of the zoning ordinance.

As part of the Christ Redeemers’s legalized extortion scheme, they tried to claim with a straight face that Hanover should pay them $1.2 million dollars in damages for illegally holding up the construction of their mega-church. In one of the only truly funny episodes of this entire affair, the Grafton County Court agreed that they were entitled to damages, but calculated the amount due at $281! ($1 nominal damage+ $280 in court filing costs). I hope for Mr Tierney’s sake that he didn’t take this case on contingency!

So, all parties appealed to the NH Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Tuesday, March 29 at 9:30 AM. All Supreme Court proceedings are streamed live – you can watch the proceedings here:NH Supreme Court live stream. You can also attend the hearings in person and sit in the gallery if you’re interested.

The hearing is a very structured affair, with only 30 minutes allotted for the entire proceeding. No witnesses or testimony, just the attorneys presenting their arguments and answering questions from the justices.

Some time after the hearing, we will get the written decision, and that will be the final decision on this zoning issue. But, no matter what decision comes down, this is unlikely to be the end of the whole thing. Maybe the end of the beginning, but there is a long, long way to go.